Ch. 2 Case Study - Elementary
Instructions: Read the case study, then answer the questions that follow on your blog. Your responses should demonstrate critical thinking and thorough understanding of the subject matter, using proper terminology.
Case:
As the final school bell rings, most of the students in Ms. Bowman's first-grade class gather their belongings and hurry out the door. But Amy convinces her friend Lucy to linger for a few minutes while she checks on Ringo, the class's pet goldfish. As this week's "animal keeper" for the class, Amy has noticed that Ringo hasn't eaten any of his food for the past 2 days. In fact, all he does now is lie sideways on the surface of the water; he doesn't try to swim away when she touches him. With her friend looking over her shoulder, Amy tries to give the fish a slight push toward a few flakes of food.
"He must be sleeping," she says. "Usually all I have to do is swish the water around to make him swim. He's acting really weird. Maybe he's forgotten how to eat and swim."
Lucy inspects the fish and then looks back at her friend and says, "I don't know, May. He's been sleeping an awful long time. He's not eating either. I'll get Ms. Bowman, and maybe she can fix him."
Lucy hurries over to her teacher and grabs her by the hand. "Something's wrong," Amy declares as Lucy and Ms. Bowman approach the fish bowl. "He's not moving. He hasn't eaten for a long time."
When Ms. Bowman looks in the bowl, she realizes that Ringo has died. She delicately explains the situation and then wraps the fish in a paper towel. She assures the girls that she will give Ringo a proper burial as soon as she gets home.
Amy looks puzzled. "But...but...when my grandpa died last summer, he went away to heaven and didn't come back. Ringo's still here. If he's dead, he should be going to heaven."
"Do you want Ringo to go to heaven?" Amy nods, and Ms. Bowman smiles. "Well, then, I bet he'll go there just as soon as he possibly can."
As the two girls walk home, Lucy poses a question: "Do you have to eat in heaven?"
"I don't know," Amy responds. "I suppose so, or else you'd be hungry all the time."
"Oh, that makes sense." Lucy pauses for a moment and then asks, "Well, do you have to go potty in heaven?"
Amy rolls her eyes, indignantly puts her hands on her hips, and replies, "Of course not, silly! You know our mommies and Ms. Bowman make us go potty before we go anywhere!"
"Oh, yeah, I forgot," laughs Lucy.
Questions:
1. Describe an episode in the case study that demonstrates disequilibrium. Justify your response. an episode in the case study that demonstrates disequilibrium is when Amy is wondering if her grandpa went to heaven when he died, then how come Ringo is not in heaven. This is because she is puzzled that she can still see Ringo even though he is dead and when her Grandpa died she could not see him.
Describe an episode that demonstrates assimilation. Justify your response. An episode of assimilation is when Amy says that you will not have to go potty in heaven because they are always told to go potty before they go anywhere. This is because she is dealing with a situation in a way that she understands. Everybody uses the potty before they go somewhere.
2. Identify a possible instance of preoperational egocentrism in the case. Justify your response.
When Lucy asks Amy if you eat in heaven and Amy responds that of course or you would be hungry. This gives an example of the act of speaking without taking into account the listeners knowledge.
3. How might a Vygotskian theorist suggest Ms. Bowman address the death of the class pet?
A Vygotskian theorist would suggest that Ms. Bowman use guided participation to address the death of Ringo. This would require steps to help the students understand the process of death. Involving the practice of mediation, scaffolding, and supervision for a child to get a better understanding of why things have to die.
4. How might taking care of pets in the classroom promote students' cognitive development? When you have to care for a pet it gives you responsibilities and understandings of what something needs to exist and live a good life, helping increase a persons knowledge, thinking, and reasoning processes. Knowledge of caring for something, thinking about how to care and what needs to be done, and the reasoning of why certain things need to be done.
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Course Contract Review #1

As I have finished my first exam, I feel that there are a few things that I am doing well. Attending class is always necessary. On top of doing all homework and reading assignments. Using my study guide is another essential part of my studies. What I am not doing well on is giving myself enough time to study. That seems to be a difficult task. Being regimented in how I study and the study tools I use also becomes a little harder to accomplish with lack of time. And leaving little time to go over the course website. I was not as prepared to use this sight as I should have been, although I did make use of it the night before the exam. I do have to say that I am making progress in my studies, as I find the class interesting. This is always a bonus when it comes to taking a class. I feel that I am learning and retaining information and with that said, I would say I am making progress. What I need to change to meet my goals is to stay on top of my studies. Definitely trying to accomplish this goal and as I manage my time and stay organized I should be able to meet my goals.

Cool Brain Research

Judy Willis, a board-certified neurologist and middle school teacher, has done research on how the brain is stimulated when learning. She has found that in today's classroom settings students are becoming increasingly bored and unable to retain information. Combining her knowledge on the brain and that of a school teacher, she has been able to observe students and come up with solutions for creating a more interesting environment for learning. In 2007 after much research she wrote the book titled "Brain Friendly Strategies for the Inclusion Classroom". Her studies involve neuroimaging and brain mapping. This process helps researchers actually see how the brain reacts to learning new material and how that material is stored.

The research that Judy Willis has done is very helpful in the field of education. She is focusing her research mainly on how to teach students of all levels and abilities and keep them interested. With the schools focusing on teaching the standardized tests, classrooms are becoming very stale and unstimulating. The whole purpose of Judy Willis's research is to find out how to keep the brain interested so that learning is recorded and stored into the long-term memory.

There is alot of knowledge for a teacher to learn from this research. Her books alone are a must-read for teachers. A classroom needs to be creative and stimulating for the students. They need to find it curious and energy charged. Learning to keep my classroom from getting stale, getting to know each student on an individual level, and making sure that all the needs of the independent learners are met are just a few of the ideas that need to be brought into the classroom.

Web Quest #3

The four educational research types, (descriptive, correlational, experimental, and action research) can all be helpful in obtaining information, but they do have their faults. Descriptive may be able to conclude valuable information but it also can be a long process and time consuming. Correlational studies may be able to compare two subejects and see how they relate to one another but they cannot prove the causation of the relationship. Experimental research can give us information by testing something on a group and comparing this to a group that was not tested. We may be able to see the affects of the testing, but experimental research does not work well with education. With action research a more positive process of research can be used on the classroom. A teacher that approaches their classroom with the hopes of learning how to become a better teacher may be able to do so using action research.

As a student in the process of becoming a teacher, I feel that understanding the different types of educational research will be helpful. As noted descriptive, correlational and experimental research have their place in science, but they do not necessarily have a place in teaching. With action research, a teacher can approach a subject to be taught in class with a new technique and study the effects at this new technique has on the class. If a teacher handles their action research where they do not have it interfere with teaching, it is not demanding on their time, they are commited to the research and they approach it ethically then the research can be a very positive process.

As a student and future teacher there is still alot to be learned about the process of action research. If I want to be able to test different teaching strategies on my classroom, and I will, I will need to go about the process diligently. The students must always come first when teaching and if I were to impose a new idea onto my class I would want to make sure that in all possible ways it would be beneficial. I feel that doing alot of research on my own before implimenting anything onto a classroom will be quite useful. Also, as I mentioned before, if am I commited to my research and I do not let it interfere with my teaching then it could be a positive learning tool.

Educational Psych Course Contract

1. My weekly preparation plan will be to divide my assignments up over the week. Giving me time each day to read and take notes. As I take notes I will try to understand each topic and make a note of any topic I do not understand. I will also set up note cards for terminology to be used during the course.
2. First complete reading assignment. Second fill out studyguide. Third fill out note cards. Fourth complete any other assignment.
3. If I do not understand a topic, I will make note of the topic. I will use blogger for any feedback. I will email necessary questions. I will brind any questions into class. And if I still need more understanding, I will then use office hours for questions.
4. I will reach my goals in this course by reading chapters, meeting for study groups, taking necessary notes, completing all assignments on time, and attending all classes(unless I have a really good excuse).

intro

Why am I here? I am working on a second bachelors. My first degree is from M.S.U. 20 years ago. Scary. I should be working on my doctorate by now, but took time off from school to play, travel, experience life and be a stay at home mom. I decided to go back to school and the best option for me was to start fresh as I have been out of practice for a long time. I chose teaching because I love kids, love to watch them learn and have worked as a preschool teacher and done a lot of volunteer work in the schools. I hope I am making the right choice ( I always second guess my decisions) Hope to have fun, expand my mind and not get too buried. After I finish this program and actually start working, I am hoping to travel with my children in the summer months and work for volunteer programs teaching less fortunate children.